Ralf Rangnick admits Manchester United said ‘no’ to signing current Liverpool star Luis Diaz in January

Speaking before the league game against Brighton & Hove Albion today (h/t Sky Sports), Manchester United manager Ralf Rangnick admitted that he was told he could not pursue a move for current Liverpool star, Luis Diaz, in the January transfer window.

The Red Devils have clearly struggled this season. Not only have they been poor defensively over the course of the season, but the inability of their players to support Cristiano Ronaldo in terms of scoring goals is set to see them miss out on a top-four finish.

They saw Anthony Martial leave for Sevilla in January while Mason Greenwood was suspended by the club just a few days before the transfer deadline. Rangnick admits he wanted to bolster his attack but the club did not allow him to.

Amongst the names he was after, one that would stand out for our fans is that of Diaz. The Colombian winger joined the Reds from FC Porto in what has proved to be a superb winter signing. Manchester City-bound Julian Alvarez and Dusan Vlahovic, who is now at Juventus, were the other two names he mentioned.

“The answer at the time was no there was no player on the market that could really help us – there were a few, Diaz who is now at Liverpool, Alvarez who will be at Manchester City in the summer, Vlahovic who at the time still was with Fiorentina.”

What a signing!

In his comments, Rangnick seems distraught with the Man United board for not even trying to bring in a player, albeit on short notice, in order to help steer the club towards a strong finish. Perhaps, it is his way of deflecting some of the blame elsewhere for the subpar job he has done so far in terms of results.

The Austrian is set to make way at the managerial helm for Erik ten Hag this summer. Diaz has been a revelation for the Reds and continues to be our talisman down the left-hand side since the club paid £37.5m in initial fees to sign him. The way he has adjusted so well to English football makes this one of our best signings in recent times.

To imagine him in a United shirt seems odd now. Then again, there isn’t anything to suggest that he would have taken up their offer over ours had they approached him. The gap between the two teams right now is, after all, massive.

This could also be an attempt from Rangnick to point out his eye for talent, given that Diaz and Vlahovic are doing well at their new clubs while Alvarez has been picked up by their city rivals to potentially replace Sergio Aguero.

More Liverpool News

• Ahead of the PL clash vs Tottenham Hotspur, Jurgen Klopp admits Liverpool were desperate to sign Luis Diaz
• Transfer News: Liverpool, PSG, and Real Madrid target Aurelien Tchouameni will leave AS Monaco this summer
• Injury News: Jurgen Klopp gives the latest on Roberto Firmino for Liverpool vs Tottenham Hotspur

The Colombian international, in fact, even opened the scoring against Manchester United in the 4-0 PL rout at Anfield in gameweek 30. Diaz was also linked with Tottenham in the same month, who are our Premier League opponents tonight.